'He had 100 per cent genuine commitment every day and you respect that when you see that from somebody, and he is someone you could go to war with. You would love to be in the trenches with Pat and those are very difficult qualities to find in modern society.'

Rice greeted the news with shock and joy, saying: 'I'm delighted and honoured to be receiving an MBE. The news of the award came as a complete surprise and I'm just so flattered to be included in the Queen's New Year's Honours List.

'Football and Arsenal have been my life and I have so many fantastic memories during my career. I have been lucky to have played and worked with so many great individuals, and through hard work I have enjoyed some success along the way.

Team work: Arsene Wenger (left) with Pat Rice at Arsenal

'I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped me throughout my career, and importantly, a special thank you to all my family, who have always been there for me and supported me throughout my career.'

Sports honours were dominated by athletes, coaches and administrators involved in the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, but St George's Park chairman David Sheepshanks led the way among other sporting figures, receiving a CBE for services to football.

He oversaw the building of the National Football Centre near Burton-upon-Trent, which opened in October, while he was chairman of Ipswich for 13 years from 1995 to 2008.

Sheepshanks, who is also honoured for charitable services in Suffolk, was appointed chairman of the Football League in 1997 and has been involved with the Football Association, UEFA and FIFA.

Recognised: David Sheepshanks

Former England cricket captain and Kent president Mike Denness is awarded an OBE for services to sport 37 and a half years after his last Test match.

The 72-year-old, the only Scotsman to captain England, played 28 Test matches, scoring four centuries, and led his country on 19 occasions.

Denness, who later became an International Cricket Council match referee, was named president of the county for which he played for 14 years last December.

Among those to receive MBEs are two more recent England cricketers, Mark Ramprakash and Robert Croft.

Both men retired this summer after long careers in county cricket, with Croft playing for Glamorgan for 23 seasons and Ramprakash representing Middlesex and Surrey.

David Collier, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, welcomed the honours for the trio.

He said: 'The award to Mike Denness is fitting recognition for a long and distinguished career in cricket which has seen him fulfil a variety of key roles.

'Mark Ramprakash was among the most supremely gifted batsmen of his generation and can be justifiably proud of being one of an elite band of cricketers who have scored 100 first-class hundreds.

'Very few cricketers achieve the feat of scoring more than 10,000 first-class runs and taking more than 1,000 first-class wickets as Robert Croft did for Glamorgan during a 23-year career. His honour is richly deserved.'

Also awarded OBEs are Catherine Caithness, president of the World Curling Federation, and John Sanderson for services to the horseracing industry.

All out: Mark Ramprakash retired this summer after a long career in cricket

The same honour goes to Amanda Reddin, the head national coach for British Gymnastics and personal coach to Beth Tweddle, Britain's most successful female gymnast.

Former Wales and Lions wing JJ Williams receives an MBE for services to rugby and charitable services in Wales.

The 64-year-old won 30 caps for his country between 1973 and 1979 and was selected for the iconic Lions tours in 1974 and 1977, playing in seven Tests.

Former St Helens and Great Britain star Paul Sculthorpe is recognised for his rugby league career and charity work while Colin Appleyard and Elizabeth Littler are also awarded MBEs for services to motorcycle sport and ice skating respectively.

Honoured: John James Williams

Former Great Britain hockey player Tina Cullen receives the same award as does Andrew Thomson for services to bowls and James Gundill for services to horseracing.

Finally, Andrew Gairdner is also awarded an MBE following his retirement this summer as voluntary chief steward at Wimbledon after 34 years working at the All England Club.

Sheepshanks was pleased to receive his award in a year he helped oversee the opening of St George's Park.

'I feel both humbled and proud,' he said.

'Of course, it is a wonderful honour to receive personally, but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all the special people that I have been privileged to work with along the way, both in the world of football and locally in Suffolk, not least thanks to my wonderful wife and family, whose support is unwavering.

'The year 2012 has been magnificent for all of us at the FA with the opening of St George's Park.

'I feel that I receive this award in recognition of the combined efforts of the fabulous team that I have been fortunate to lead who have designed, built, and now operate St George's Park.'

Clattenburg back in training with elite officials but race-row ref left off Premier League list again for a third week

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UPDATED:

17:29 GMT, 12 November 2012

Referee Mark Clattenburg returned to training with the top-flight Select Group of referees today but has once again been left off this weekend's Barclays Premier League fixture list.

The Durham official, who has not taken charge of a match since Chelsea accused him of directing racist language towards John Mikel Obi at Stamford Bridge on October 28, had not trained while the investigations have been taking place but he did so today at the FA's St George's Park HQ.

Controversy: Mark Clattenburg has not refereed since Chelsea v Man United

Clattenburg and referees chief Mike
Riley have decided jointly that he should not be in charge of matches
while the case has been ongoing.

Chelsea last week submitted a
dossier of evidence to the FA, including signed witness statements from
players, alleging Clattenburg used a term understood to have been
interpreted as racist during the 3-2 defeat by Manchester United.

Clattenburg denies the accusation.

Clattenburg is understood to have been among those interviewed by the Football Association on Thursday as part of continuing investigations into Chelsea's claim.

The governing body are now assessing those allegations and are believed to have spoken to Clattenburg, assistant referees Michael McDonough and Simon Long and fourth official Michael Jones.

The interview process is believed to have been completed on Friday.

The full file of evidence from Chelsea was received by the FA at the start of the week and since then the players have also been interviewed.

The case could not be more sensitive following Chelsea skipper John Terry's four-match ban for racist abuse, and the FA is determined to deal with it as quickly as possible – especially following criticism about the length of time, almost a year, it took to deal with Terry.

Row: Clattenburg is accused of using racist language towards John Mikel Obi

Clattenburg had decided not to referee a match for a second consecutive weekend while the investigation is ongoing and now he has been left off the appointments again.

The Metropolitan Police have also launched an investigation following a complaint lodged by the Society for Black Lawyers, based on reports of the incident rather than any evidence.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has had his say, saying it was 'unthinkable' that Clattenburg would make such a comment and that he was 'convinced' he would not have done so.

Clattenburg, 37, who is on FIFA's shortlist to be a match official at the 2014 World Cup, strenuously denies the accusations against him.